Catan Had Been Fulfilled

Dear Players, Ten years ago, after publishing “Cities & Knights®,” I was asked if there would be a third expansion of the Basic Game. I answered in the negative at that time, because I thought that all wishes to experience more in Catan had been fulfilled. With “Seafarers®,” the game was extended spatially, and “Cities & Knights” provided it with greater depth. At the beginning of 2006 we started a survey in the Catan Online World where, among other things, we asked the citizens of this virtual game world which games they would want the most. “Variants of the Basic Game” appeared at the very top of the wish list. This vote encouraged me to consolidate and further develop ideas for interesting variants and expansions that had piled up in my drawer during the past 10 years. The outcome is what you are holding in your hands now! A Campaign with 5 scenarios opens up entirely new challenges and possibilities to experience the Basic Game in a new fashion, and well-established variants offer alternatives to adapt the game to one’s own needs. Hence, the third expansion is all about “Variants of the Basic Game,” and in the last two scenarios of the Campaign it also offers a game depth that almost comes up to the standard of “Cities & Knights.” It is impossible to satisfactorily resolve an expansion of this scope all by oneself. I therefore want to sincerely thank all those fellow settlers mentioned under “Rule Testing and Advice” at the end of this instruction, for their valuable help. I wish you lots of fun with Traders & Barbarians! — Klaus Teuber, February 2007 You can find further information on the Internet at: www.catan.com www.mayfairgames.com www.universityofcatan.com www.klausteuber.com GAME COMPONENTS CONTENTS • 98 game pieces Introduction ..........................................................page 2 – 24 knights (6 of each color) The Variants......................................................pages 3-7 – 12 bridges (3 of each color) The Friendly Robber ........................................page 3 – 4 wagons (1 of each color) n – 36 barbarians (bronze color) n Catan Event Cards ............................................page 4 – 22 camels (brown color) n Harbormaster ..................................................page 6 • 120 cards n Catan for Two ..................................................page 6 – 1 set of cards for “Catan Event Cards” variant The Campaign ................................................pages 8-23 – 4 cards for “The Fishermen of Catan” scenario n The Fishermen of Catan*..................................page 8 – 1 set of cards for “Barbarian Attack” scenario n The Rivers of Catan* ......................................page 10 – 2 sets of cards for “Traders & Barbarians” scenario n The Caravans..................................................page 12 • 17 terrain tiles, fishing ground tiles, and sea frame pieces n Barbarian Attack............................................page 15 • 40 gold coin counters (25 small, 15 large) Traders & Barbarians ....................................page 19 • 3 Special Cards/Tiles: “Harbormaster,” n “Wealthiest Settler,” and “Poor Settler” (4 copies) Credits ..................................................................page 24 • 21 Catan chits * — These scenarios differ significantly from those previously • 36 commodity tokens published with the same names. Both have expanded rules; the first has an added lake, while the second has more river hexes. Read the • 30 fish tokens rules for each of these scenarios carefully before beginning play. • 1 variants & scenarios rules booklet 2 BEFORE YOUR FIRST GAME Carefully detach the die-cut cardboard pieces from the frames. On the backs of the larger pieces, you will find the name of the corresponding variant or scenario. The color of each back serves as an additional distinguishing characteris- tic—each variant/scenario has a unique corresponding color. You can also find those colors on the card backs. Variant “The Friendly Robber:” ..............................Gray g Variant “Catan Event Cards:” ................................Black g Variant “Harbormaster:” ........................................Red g Variant “Catan for Two:”..............................Light Green g NOTE Scenario “The Fishermen of Catan:” ................Sea Blue g The variants can be used and combined with each other Scenario “The Rivers of Catan:” ....................Dark Blue g as well as with the Traders & Barbarians (T&B) scenarios, with Catan: Seafarers , scenarios, and to a certain extent Scenario “The Caravans:” ........................................Tan g ® with Catan: Cities & Knight®. For some variant/scenario Scenario “Barbarian Attack:” ......................Dark Green g combinations, the rules have to be slightly modified or adapted. Such adaptations of rules are specified in each of Scenario “Traders & Barbarians:” ......................Purple g the respective variants and scenarios. gg THE FRIENDLY ROBBER gg g THE RULE CHANGE When a “7” is rolled or a Knight Card is played, the robber What’s going on in the forest of Catan? Strange stories are may not be moved to a terrain hex that is adjacent to a coming out of the dark woods of the Black Forest, hinting settlement of a player who only has 2 victory points. that Isebold and his dreaded robbers have disappeared If, because of this rule, the robber has no valid terrain hex without a trace, and that a young lad has taken his place. to move to, the robber moves to (or remains on) the desert His name is said to be Rob de Hood, and supposedly he is hex. In this case, a Resource Card may not be taken from any only taking from rich travelers. Poor devils are allowed to player who only has 2 victory points. move on… When using this rule, you still lose half of your Resource Duration of the Game: ................according to scenario Cards when a “7” is rolled and you have more than 7 Additional Components: ........................................none Resource Cards. g WHAT IT IS ABOUT g TIPS FOR PLAYING THIS VARIANT Who hasn’t experienced the frustration of having the robber This variant should always be used when playing in a moved next to one of your settlements early in the game? Not family circle, particularly when children are participating only may you lose a resource, but the robber blocks crucial in the game. resource production until a “7” is rolled or a Knight Card is g OSSIBLE OMBINATIONS played. The “Friendly Robber” variant protects you from the P C robber until you have more than 2 victory points. This variant can be combined with all other T&B variants, T&B scenarios, and Seafarers scenarios, without rule changes. 3 gg CATAN EVENT CARDS gg g SPECIAL PREPARATION Separate out the “Brief Rules” card and the “New Year” “Every man is the architect of his own fortune”—this card. proverb is true also in Catan. Pick up the dice and a) Shuffle the remaining 36 cards. challenge fortune each time anew! Of course, sometimes b) Place 5 of the shuffled cards face down to start one will be at odds with the forces controlling fate, when the Event Card deck. one’s own numbers won’t come up and fortune only c) Place the “New Year” card face down on top of smiles on the other players. these 5 cards. But now it seems that so-called “scientists” have d) Place the remaining shuffled cards face down on succeeded in making “fortune” a more calculable affair— top of the “New Year” card. by applying statistical methods. And it actually seems to work! Although, from what one hears, the use of You have prepared the Event Card deck and are ready to mathematics also has unpleasant consequences: It is begin play. Each turn, reveal the top Event Card, then resolve no longer possible any more to excuse one’s own defeat any event shown first, and finally produce resources using the by saying that one’s numbers didn’t come up… number on the circular chit on the card. Duration of the Game: ................according to scenario When the “New Year” is revealed, repeat the preparation process above to create a new Event Card deck (then reveal Additional Components: the top card, resolve any event, and produce resources using the number on the new card). Note: Each time the deck is prepared, 5 cards are excluded from play until the next time the deck is prepared. This creates some uncertainty to the final resource rolls as the deck runs out. If having a perfect dice distribution is more important to you, feel free to play through all 36 cards without the “Year Card,” and simply reshuffle when all cards have been used! g ADDITIONAL RULES Robber Attacks! (Prod. #s: 6x “7”) 1. Each player with more than 7 cards must discard half (rounded down). 2. Move the robber. Draw a random resource card from any 1 player with a settlement and/or city next to the robber’s new hex. Epidemic (Prod. #s: “6” and “8”) Each player receives only 1 resource g WHAT IT IS ABOUT for each of his cities that produces this These cards replace the dice! On your turn, you don’t roll turn. the dice, but instead you turn the top card of the Event Card Cities & Knights: You may not deck face up. The number on the circular chit on the card take a commodity card. determines which terrain hexes produce resources. Earthquake (Prod. #: “6”) That face-up card may also trigger a particular event. There are a total of 11 different events, and almost half of the cards Each player turns 1 (maximum) of his have events. roads sideways. You may not build roads until your turned road is The statistically correct distribution of the numbers on the repaired. The repairs cost 1 lumber and cards reduces the randomness produced by dice rolls. 1 brick. Roads turned sideways are still However, in exchange, the events inject new elements of counted towards the “Longest Road.” chance into the game—thus producing a slightly different ambience. 4 Good Neighbors (Prod. #: “6”) Conflict (Prod. #: “3”) Each player gives the player to his left The player with the “Largest Army” 1 resource of the giver’s choice (if he card (if not claimed, each player with has one).

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